Style
Style is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and is the third track from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). The song was written by Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback, and Ali Payami. It was released to radio by Republic Records, in partnership with Swift's label Big Machine Records, on February 9, 2015, as the album's third single, following "Blank Space". "Style" received critical acclaim from music reviewers, who praised the '80s-styled production and considered it one of the best tracks on 1989. The song reached number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the third consecutive top-10 single from 1989 in the country, and entered the top-10 on charts of numerous regions, including Australia, Canada, and South Africa. It also made the top 40 in countries like the United Kingdom, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Netherlands. The accompanying music video was directed by Kyle Newman and premiered on February 13, 2015. The song was featured in the 2015 film, San Andreas. Chart performance The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 60 due to strong digital download sales following the release of parent album 1989, but fell off the chart the following week. Following her live performance at the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in December 2014, the song re-entered the charts in the chart dated December 27 at number 75, having sold 48,000 copies. "Style" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent nine consecutive weeks in the top 10. Aside from its success on the Billboard Hot 100, the song has topped the Adult Top 40, the Mainstream Top 40, and the Adult Contemporary chart and also charted at number 21 on the Rhythmic chart. "Style" likewise topped the Hot AC, CHR/Top 40, and AC airplay charts in Canada. The song was also a worldwide commercial success, charting at number one in Israel and South Africa. In Australia, "Style" peaked at number eight. In neighboring New Zealand, the song peaked at number 11. "Style" charted at number 9 and 21 in Scotland and the United Kingdom, respectively. It also received top 40 positions in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, and Slovakia. Critical reception "Style" received general acclaim from music critics, many of which considered it one of the best tracks on 1989. PopMatters described Swift as "(trying) on several fresh styles that fit her like a cashmere-lined leather glove" on this song and praises it as "immaculate, almost impossibly ebullient and thrilling". The Observer called it a "percolating funk-pop number that satisfies on every level". The New York Times declared it as the album's high mark and compared it to the original Miami Vice soundtrack. Now called it the top track from the album. The Los Angeles Times praised it as "a sensual funk track." The hook of "Style" was praised by Consequence of Sound, proclaiming it is "one of the album’s most arresting hooks... The song is deliriously triumphant, but triumph is an easy place to get to when you’re young, hot, and loaded in the country’s sparkliest city. Here, Swift’s girl-next-door likability slips, making it harder to forget that 'Style' literally debuted as an advertisement." Drowned in Sound commented that "There's that same 'stay positive' philosophy, and a fair few shouty bits. Best of all is 'Style', which celebrates Swift's fling with 1D's Harry Styles (geddit?) as though being young and reckless is all a part of growing up. This is something anyone can relate to, whether they've made a string of poor romantic choices or 'done a whitey' on the weekend gone by." NME described "Style" as "so ’80s-indebted with its thick piano-house and uplifting “Take me home” coda, echoes the retro-modern atmosphere conjured by the slinky cool of Electric Youth and Blood Orange. In a less enthusiastic review, The Independent called the song "desperately inclusive electropop grooves and corporate rebel clichés of songs", though "a certain piquancy" is apparent. Pitchfork Media named "Style" the 50th best song of 2014. Lyrics Category:1989 Singles